Bette Midler

Bette (Warner)

Every star is eventually forced to attempt a comeback. Elvis had his 1968 comeback special. Burt Reynolds had Boogie Nights. It's inevitable. And now Bette Midler has her TV sitcom and her new album, both entitled Bette. The less said about the show, the better. If anyone can salvage it, Bette Midler can, but she has her work cut out for her. As for the album, you're better off sticking with her past efforts. As I listened to Bette, several songs seemed vaguely familiar, as if I'd heard them in an elevator or a department store. You know the kind of music-it's what they advertise on the radio as "your soft favorites."

Don't get me wrong, Midler sounds good. She's a diva in every sense of the word. And God knows she looks good on the album cover. Forget the bulk she carried as Brenda in The First Wives Club. But don't expect the raucous ditties that made her a favorite at the San Francisco bathhouses in the '70s. No "Otto Titsling" or "Knights in Black Leather" on this album. And don't hope for the poignancy of the For the Boys soundtrack, either. Well-done covers of "Shining Star" and "Just My Imagination" are the closest Midler comes to the emotional and musical high points of past albums. Overall, Bette is a good effort, but the dearth of solid material fails to show off the fabulous voice of a modern diva. C+ -Krisa R. Benskin

Poe

Haunted (Atlantic)

In the enjoyable Haunted, singer Poe exorcises the demons of her childhood. The Princeton graduate recounts her youth as one fraught with fear and emotional distance, yet her songs have an upbeat tempo that guarantees your toes will be tapping on the first hearing. Sentimental ballads like "5" and "1?2-Minute Hallway" float along next to spunky declarations of independence such as "I'm Not a Virgin Anymore." Yet in spite of the subject matter, Poe never becomes maudlin or bitter. Instead, her verse feels infused with the strength she's gained since having herself declared legally independent at the age of 16. In addition to providing sparkling vocals, the versatile Poe also composed, produced and engineered the album.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this album is how it intertwines with House of Leaves, the book written by Poe's brother Mark Z. Danielewski that was last year's literary sensation. Her blue-haired sibling says Poe's music is in no way a soundtrack for the book, but rather a parallel view of the same history. House of Leaves tells of a family whose house is five-sixteenths of an inch longer on the inside than on the outside. The house also contains a dark abyss into which people disappear for days. The eventual breakdown of the family reflects Danielewski's childhood, just as Poe's music does her own. A- -Krisa R. Benskin

Nate Borofsky

Never Enough Time (Finocchio)

Reviewing folk albums is a difficult task, since what may sound at the very least charming in a live performance often translates poorly to the recorded format. Often the CD you picked up for $10 at the street corner ends up in the corner of the closet, gathering dust.

Unfortunately, this will likely be the case for local power folk artist Nate Borofsky's new album Never Enough Time. The album shows hints of promise. On the track "Viola" (which features a viola in the background no less), Borofsky manages to reach past his rather ordinary voice and create some beautiful music. But Borofsky's major stumbling block is his lyrics, which detract more from his music than they add to it. Borofsky obviously means well, tackling tough political and social issues such as homosexuality in "Beautiful Boy" and war in "On D-Day," but even the best intentions do not make for great lyrics. And regrettably, the songs on Never Enough Time stumble through incoherent, seemingly random lines like "A rock thrown through/The rear window/They took my socks" in "Smash the Car" and "I keep trying to clean my room/There's a coffee cup in my underwear drawer" in the title track. So while surely a pleasant enough listen in Club Passim or on a walk through the Square, Nate Borofsky's Never Enough Time will likely be relegated to the closet corner. C+ -Stacy A. Porter

Kirk Whalum

Unconditional (Warner)

Kirk Whalum is one of "those guys," one of those smooth-jazz saxophonists who seem to now be a dime a dozen. However, with his eighth solo project, Unconditional, he attempts to distance himself from the pack, employing a fuller tone and grittier attack than before in an album of tributes and pop tune covers.

Whalum conjures the go-go groove in his tribute to the late Grover Washington Jr., "Groverworked and Underpaid." This performance is clearly the highlight of the album. Washington's influence can also be felt in Whalum's covers of Macy Gray's "I Try" and Shai's "Can't Stop the Rain" (which features guest vocals from the original artist).

Unfortunately, the slower songs are as faceless and schmaltzy as any of Whalum's previous work. It is performances like Whalum's cover of 'NSync's "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" that frustrate jazz fans; all the evidence points toward a talented musician afraid to display any individuality. And, ultimately, it is this lack of individuality which mars Unconditional. Whalum wears each smooth-jazz hat-Grover Washington, Kenny G, David Sanborn-well in their respective turn. However, you can't help but feel that the real Kirk Whalum has yet to be heard. B- -Malik B. Ali

Murray Perahia

Bach: Goldberg Variations

(Sony Classical)

A convincing performance of Bach's monumental Goldberg Variations requires much more than brilliant virtuosity and finger agility. Written both to alleviate a Count Kaiserling of his nightly insomnia and as a set of "keyboard exercises," the work has become one of the cornerstones of the repertoire, its aria instantly recognizable to many. Among the aria and 30 variations are nine canons, a French overture, fugues and a quodlibet.

Murray Perahia's new recording on Sony Classical displays the pianist's careful and deeply intelligent approach to the keyboard. Taking all repeats and avoiding the extroverted, almost maniacal approach that made eccentric Candian pianist Glenn Gould so famous, Perahia is still able to capture our attention with his wonderful tone. The only downside is that some of his embellishments during repeats sound a bit rehearsed. One sometimes wants to hear more of a free approach, especially in the sections where inegal playing is necessary to the style of the variation. However, Perahia has obviously studied the score with great attention to detail, as his treatment of inner voices and his sense of direction in the fundamental bass clearly show. If you don't want to go with the extremes of a dionysian Gould (1955) or a puritan Rosalyn Tureck (1999), this is the recording to get. A- -Anthony Cheung